Kristie's Craziness

All the random things in life that I think we should talk about.

Recent Posts

  • Nebraska Honey Wheat Bread with Walnuts and Bacon

    Nebraska Honey Wheat Bread with Walnuts and Bacon

    Hello Lovelies! I hope you’re all having a wonderful week. I seem to be in a bit of an emotional storm right now, but that means it’s a good time to cook.

    So what do you know about Nebraska? Do you know that they grow a lot of wheat in that state? They grow between 30 and 55 million bushels a year depending on the weather. With that knowledge, no one should be surprised that the first recipe I tried from Nebraska was for wheat bread.

    If you had ever read the Michigan Mama blog, you already know that bread is not my forte. I still make my dough in the bread machine. I have zero skills when it comes to scorning the loaf and somehow deflated the loaves when I did.

    On the bright side, the bread is light and actually really tasty. I like it warmed with a little bit of honey cinnamon spread for breakfast with my coffee.

    Honey Wheat Bread with Walnuts and Bacon

    Ingredients

    • 2 tsp active dry yeast
    • 1/2 cup warm water
    • 1 tsp sugar
    • 1 cup whole wheat flour
    • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1/2 cup whole milk slightly warmed
    • 1/4 cup liquid honey
    • 2 TBSP melted butter
    • 1 1/2 tsp salt
    • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
    • 1/4 cup bacon bits

    Directions

    1. Sprinkle the yeast into the warm water and set aside.
    2. Add the rest of the ingredients to your bread machine, starting with the liquid ingredients and ending with the flour. Finally pour the yeast mixture into your bread machine.
    3. Set the machine to dough and the. Let it mix your ingredients. When it is finished, leave the dough to rise for 2 hours or until doubled in size.
    4. Once dough has doubled, on a lightly floured work surface punch dough down. Divide dough in half and shape each piece into a rectangle. Starting at the narrow end, roll into a cylinder; tightly pinching the ends as you roll, and then pinch to seal closed. Place seam side down on a baking sheet (leave lots of room between each loaf). Then, cover with plastic and let rest until doubled in size, approx. 1 hour.
    5. Meanwhile preheat oven to 400ËšF.
      Once the dough has doubled, make a score/slash along the top of the bread using an extremely sharp knife; slash on a diagonal.
    6. Place in the middle of the oven and bake for approx. 20 minutes or until bread is golden, crisp and sounds hollow when tapped.
    7. Transfer to a rack and let cool for 10 minutes before enjoying.

    I created this recipe from multiple Nebraska Honey Wheat Breads I found online. The one that had bacon also had blue cheese dressing which is a no go for me.

    Let me know how you like it.

    Kristie

  • Class of Beverly Hills Part 1

    Class of Beverly Hills Part 1

    What’s a show that was popular when you were a kid, but you never got into it? For me, that would be Beverly Hills 90210. It came out when I was 10 and my mom thought that it was too mature for me because it depicted teenagers having sex. Somehow, I could watch all of the daytime soaps, but not this.

    I’ve seen random episodes here and there over the years, but I’ve never actually sat down to watch the entire series. Guess what? It’s on Paramount+ which means I’m about to travel through time. Wanna join me?

    The episode starts with the creepiest alarm clock trying to wake up Brandon. I think it is saying wake up, but it could just be a demon telling you his name. And don’t get me started on this wallpaper.

    The reason for the early wake is, drum roll please, the first day of school! Brandon and Brenda Walsh just moved from Minneapolis to Beverly Hills, and as a Midwest girl, I have to agree that their culture shock is justified. I applaud the diversity they are trying to show, but this feels like overkill. Did anyone actually go to a high school like this?

    As Brenda and Brandon move through their first day, we get to meet the rest of the main cast for the first time. Brandon has Spanish class with Steve and Andrea. Unfortunately, he doesn’t make enough of an impression on her to keep her from treating him like an entitled pig when he asks to become a sports writer on the school paper. Brenda becomes Kelly’s lab partner in chemistry and suddenly has a school tour guide. Not sure about the bike shorts under her jeans, but the colors scream 90s. Kelly introduces Brenda to Donna, who seems like a pretty minor character at this point, even more minor than David Silver. He’s the freshman kid who’s super excited to start high school, attend all the parties and look at the pretty girls.

    Speaking of parties, Marianne Moore is hosting a back to school bash. Kelly invites Brenda to attend the party with her and even offers to drive. Brenda is totally embarrassed when her mom questions the girls about curfews that they don’t have. Is this the rental house the Walshes are staying in while their real house is completed? The Walsh residence is as iconic as the Brady house or Central Perk, and this is not that location.

    I’ve got to say, Ian Ziering becomes a better actor when he’s pretending to be drunk. His character, Steve, drinks too much at Marianne’s party and the responsible guys won’t let him drive. David just so happens to be leaning against his car, so Steve voluntells him to be the designated driver. Of course David has no clue what he’s doing and the car gets damaged. Enter who was the driver shenanigans.

    The rest of the episode involves Brandon asking out Marianne and Brenda greeting a guy in a club. I don’t have any more pictures to share, because I feel mean picking on Kelly’s wardrobe choices. Although, that probably isn’t an issue since one of the credits lists “overweight girl”.

    Let’s see if this holds my attention.

    Kristie

  • Moroccan Cucumber Salad

    Moroccan Cucumber Salad

    Hello Lovelies!

    I am finally stepping outside the U.S. with this recipe. I found myself craving something light and fresh, so I looked up Moroccan salads and found this recipe.

    I made the dressing in my vinaigrette container and drizzled it over the cucumbers in individual portions. My girls prefer to eat them with just salt or ranch dressing. 🤷‍♀️

    I loved the bright, freshness of this salad. I also love that it doesn’t require lettuce as a filler.

    Moroccan Cucumber Salad

    Ingredients

    • 6 mini cucumbers
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 2 TBSP lemon juice
    • 1/2 tsp black pepper
    • 1 tbsp olive oil
    • 2 tbsp fresh mint, minced

    Directions

    1. Prep the cucumbers. Start by slicing the cucumbers thinly. Sprinkle with salt, toss, and set in a colander to drain for 10 minutes.
    2. Make the vinaigrette. While the cucumbers sit, combine the lemon juice, pepper and olive oil in a dressing container.
    3. Assemble the salad. Transfer the cucumbers to a paper towel lined bowl to drain any liquid. Toss with vinaigrette and mint before serving.

    Makes 4 servings

    I’m super excited that I have leftovers to take for lunch tomorrow. The cucumbers should still be crisp, since the dressing isn’t saturating them overnight.

    Let me know what you think.

    Kristie

  • Butte, Montana Cornish Pasties

    Butte, Montana Cornish Pasties

    Hello Lovelies and Happy Mother’s Day!

    It’s been a crazy week. I’m still healing from the ear infection that took me out last week and am exhausted, but I really wanted to share the next recipe in Cooking around the World.

    This is a Cornish Pasty. I was unaware that pasties were available anywhere other than the Upper Peninsula, but it turns out that Irish and Cornish missionaries brought these meet pies to Montana as well as Michigan.

    The filling for these pasties is deceivingly simple. It’s just round steak, golden potatoes, onion, salt and pepper. You don’t even have to cook it before wrapping it in the pie crust. Just make sure everything is chopped to bite size pieces.

    Which reminds me, I don’t make pie crust anymore. My hands no longer have the ability to knead butter and flour into the perfect dough, so I just use a Pillsbury pie crust. But if you have the inclination, I bet your pasties will be that much better.

    Because I use ready made pie crust and don’t roll out individual circles for each pasty, they aren’t half moon shaped. Instead I somehow end up with funky football shaped pasties after I close all the edges. Then I brush them with an egg wash before baking to get them golden brown.

    The dough cracked a little bit while baking, but it doesn’t seem to have affected the taste. Next time I will put wax paper on the baking sheet for easier cleanup, but no big deal. We topped ours with brown gravy that I made with beef broth and onion soup mix

    Butte, Montana Cornish Pasties

    Ingredients

    • 2 ready-made pie crusts
    • 10 oz. Beef Round Steak, cut into 1-inch cubes
    • 10 baby golden potatoes, cubed
    • 1 small onion finely diced
    • 1 egg beaten
    • Kosher salt
    • Freshly ground black pepper
    • Gravy for serving

    Directions

    1. Toss the meat, potatoes, onion, salt and pepper together in a large bowl.
    2. Roll out your pie crust into 2 thin circles. Slice each circle in half.
    3. Mound the beef, potato, and onion in the center of each dough crescent.
    4. Fold over the dough like you’re swaddling a baby. Pinch any edges to seal.
    5. Place the pasties on a baking sheet about one inch apart. Brush the tops with a beaten egg.
    6. Bake the pasties at 350°F oven for about one hour.
    7. Serve immediately with brown gravy.

    I think the biggest difference between these and Michigan pastors is the lack of turnips in this filling. They were really good though. I recommend making them on a weekend.

    Kristie

  • Amish Sugar Cookies

    Amish Sugar Cookies

    Hello Lovelies.

    Today I went searching for a recipe to make what I like to call “coffee cookies”. I wanted something not too sweet, because I don’t like my coffee to taste more bitter. And since I’m still working alphabetically through my list, I need this cookie to come from Missouri. That’s how I found this recipe for Amish Sugar Cookies.

    Today I learned that Missouri has one of the largest Amish populations in America. I mistakenly thought their communities were limited to Michigan, Indiana and Pennsylvania

    In my opinion these cookies are more of a butter cookie than a sugar cookie, but that’s not a bad thing. I made 1/2 the batch with a sprinkle of coarse sugar and half the batch plain for my coffee.

    The girls and I really enjoy them, but Rob isn’t a fan. He prefers a sweeter cookie.

    I would love to hear your opinion. Be sure to check out the recipe at Taste of Home.

    Amish Sugar Cookies

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup butter, softened 
    • 1 cup canola oil 
    • 1 cup sugar 
    • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar 
    • 2 large eggs
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
    • 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda 
    • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

    Directions

    1. 1Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, beat the butter, oil and sugars. Beat in eggs until well blended. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually add to creamed mixture.
    2. Drop by small teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake until lightly browned, 8-10 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

    Kristie